Category: Academics

From The Wall Street Journal: The Classic Books You Haven’t Read

Finnegans Wake and Fifty Shades of Grey are at two extremes of the incomprehensible: one is a classic that befuddles; the other a plastic that bewilders. Many feel guilty about not having read the books of the first kind. And most of these would be unwilling to expiate themselves in any shade or variation recommended […]

Honoring our first crop of Core Honors awardees

Join us in congratulating the first crop of Core Honors awardees, in this the first year eligible students applied to take advantage of the Honors opportunity. Work for Honors allows students who are willing to commit extra time and effort to achieving a higher level of command of the material and techniques addressed in Core […]

Why you should read Dante

Dante’sDivine Comedy is one of CC 102’s most memorable reads towards the end of the semester. It follows a similar epic poetry format seen inThe OdysseyorThe Aeneid, but with a twist. The famous Italian poet creates his own world through his 14,000 line epic separated into three books. He brings in characters we might recognize […]

Study philosophy for better welders?

When Marco Rubio declared “We need more welders and less philosophers,” he was greeted with quite the bit of applause. This push for vocational work (shall we call it a populist appeal?) has become a central thread in the public conversation of this election season; this is likely motivated by continuing concerns about economic recovery […]

Priceless statues now open to the public

Since the 1960s, anaristocratic, Italian familyhas kept hundredsof ancient Greek and Roman statues hiddenfrom the public eye.After many failed attempts in opening a private museum, the Torlonia family finally started negotiations with the Italian government. Now about 60-90 pieces will start traveling the worldin places such as the rest of Europe and America. The familyowns […]

Roman leadership for business today

Imagine Julius Caesar running a modern day business class. Despite the ridiculous punishments imposed on students who might not have used the right font on their essays, we have to believe: he would probably come up with some GREAT leadership initiatives. He ruled a mighty state! So it’s not crazy to think that students nowadays […]

To believe or not to believe

Whether you are coming to the course as alover of science or to learn more ABOUT science, CC 212 (course name: “Reality”!) is a place to explore the beauty of quantum physics among many other topics. Eager physicists and philosophers alike enter one of the most challenging fields hoping to make a discovery that could […]

CC 203 screenshot

Reminder: All Core lectures are open to all members of the campus community, including alumni. Chalk credit: Prof. Tom Barfield

“The Meaning of Human Existence”

  Biologist Edward O. Wilson has spent his life studying evolutionary biology, writing books, and winning Pulitzer prizes, among other things. He is still going strong at 85 years old, and recently published “The Meaning of Human Existence,” a book intended to explain and convince the general public of the scientific theory of evolution. Drawing […]

Wander with Odysseus: The Odyssey as an Alternate Reality Game

What if instead of simply reading about Odysseus’s journey, you could experience it with him? John Fallon, an innovative middle school teacher, had the idea to craft an alternate reality game (ARG) to help build enthusiasm for classics like the Odyssey  in his seventh-grade class. Rather than merely reading about the adventures of Odysseus in […]